Containment
by Mechanical-Menace
Summary: The Elites are on their way home after the ending of the Great War. However, they stumble upon a mysterious structure, little did they know that some secrets should remain secret. OCs, language, and blood/gore/violence.
1. Discovery

Ch. 1 - Discovery

* * *

><p>"Shipmaster," cried the crewman, "We've located something on the radar!"<p>

"What is it?" asked Rtas 'Vadum, the Shipmaster of the _Shadow of Intent_.

"It appears to be a structure on the nearby planet, & sir, it looks Forerunner." the crewman answered. At that moment, the Arbiter & 2 Minors, Veca 'Sard & Laco 'Sedz, entered the bridge.

"Arbiter, I need you to investigate that structure, take a Phantom & some Elites with you." ordered the Shipmaster.

"I will go." said the Arbiter.

The Arbiter with Veca, Laco, & 4 other Elites boarded the awaiting Phantom.

"I wonder why there is a structure on a planet that is so barren." said Var 'Tsav, a Major.

"Who cares, at least we're not on the ship anymore." Tsu 'Wetum, a Minor, answered.

"Cut the chatter." ordered the Arbiter.

"Arbiter, we're about to land." the Pilot informed the scout party.

The Elites unboarded the Phantom & headed toward the building.

"Radio me when you need evac." said the Phantom Pilot as he flew away. The group reached the building & found a locked door.

"I'll start on the door." volunteered Relos 'Redar, a Minor. "Strange, the lock is much different from other doors." he said a moment later.

"Here," said his Major brother, Saros, "Let me try." The lock opened with a beep, & the door opens with a hiss of steam. The Elites enter the building.

"Greetings!"


	2. Instinct

Ch. 2 - Instinct

* * *

><p>"Greetings!" said a computerized voice, "I can't even begin to imagine how a small group of bipeds found this facility, let alone get inside!"<p>

"Where is that voice coming from?" asked Veca confused as he & the others looked around for the source.

"Why, I'm up here, biped." said the voice. The scout party looked up to where the voice specified, they spot a Monitor.

"An Oracle!" exclaimed Laco.

"'Oracle'? I am no 'Oracle', I am 734 Adjutant Instinct, caretaker of Flood Research Facility Zeta." informed the Monitor, its grey 'eye' blinking with each word.

"Wait, did you just say 'Flood Research Facility', Arbiter, we must leave the building immediately if it contains the Parasite!" said Relos, becoming alarmed.

"Evacuation, nonsense! This Facility has been active for more than 10,000 years. It hasn't even had a single outbreak, the Sentinels make sure of that." explained Adjutant Instinct.

"Oracle, can you be absolutely sure that the Parasite can't get out?" asked Saros curiously, looking at his brother.

"Of course," Instinct said, "the Sentinels inform me of anything that happens each & every quarter hour." He looked at the Arbiter. "I would like to know why you bipeds are here, if you don't mind my asking?"

"We are the Elites, & we where sent down here to investigate this structure." The Arbiter informed 743.

"Investigation, hmm, interesting. Since you are here to learn more of this Facility, allow me to guide you through the entire structure. As long as you don't disturb the Sentinels while they work." The Monitor suggested.

"That would be most appreciated Oracle." Arbiter said.

"Excellent, then follow me, 'Elites'." said Instinct happily.

The Elites followed closely to the Monitor, listening carefully to what it said. Adjutant Instinct showed them a bulge in the wall.

"This is one of the many Sentinel Launchers, it allows for Sentinels to go from one part of the Facility to another rather quickly." the Monitor explained.

"Oracle, what are these little things flying around us?" asked Veca

"Those are Constructors, they inspect all of the things in the Facility & repair anything from ceiling cracks to Sentinel Launchers." informed Instinct. The Monitor lead the group through the structure until they got all the way back to where the Elites met Adjutant Instinct.

"Arbiter, report!" said a familiar voice. The Arbiter turned to see Rtas 'Vadum in the turret of one of the last Shadows.

"Shipmaster, this is a Forerunner facility, it is used to study the Parasite." informed the Arbiter. The rest of the scout party greeted the Shipmaster & introduced him & his guards; Vse 'Wetum, Crae 'Mar, Avo 'Revad (all Spec Ops), Ato 'Yot; Weapon Specialist carrying a Fuel Rod Cannon on his back, & Siya 'Gotum, the Shadow Driver.

"Shipmaster, I've recorded everything the Oracle has told us." said Var.

"Excellent! Great thinking Major!" commended Shipmaster 'Vadum while being handed the recorder."Vse, Avo, escort the Arbiter to the Phantom."

"Yes, Shipmaster!" the Elites said as they followed their orders.

"Wait, you're leaving?" asked 734, "But, we've just begun educating you!"

"Don't worry Oracle, there are many other Elites who would like to listen to your vast knowledge." The Arbiter assured Instinct.

"That is good news. I-" began Adjutant Instinct, but was interrupted by a Sentinel. "Oh my, it seems that there is a little problem, please excuse me."

"Of course." said Rtas. The Monitor followed the Sentinel. The Arbiter, Vse, & Avo entered the Phantom. It had been 2 days since the Abiter had been on the same Phantom with the 6 Elites that were still in the Research Facility.

The Phantom was half way to the _Shadow of Intent_'s hanger when the Pilot came on the intercom.

"Arbiter, we have to return the Forerunner structure."

"What, why?" asked the Arbiter tiredly, as he was dozing.

"The Shipmaster says there was an incident." the Pilot said. The Arbiter could feel the Phantom change direction.

"What kind of 'incident'?" asked the Arbiter, becoming worried.

"The Parasite was released!" exclaimed the Pilot as he pushed the Phantom to its top speed. The Arbiter looked at Vse 'Wetum & he could tell that he was worried about his brother, Tsu. Avo 'Revad put his hand on Vse's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Suddenly the Phantom jerked hard to the left. The 3 Elites nearly fell to the floor of the carrier.

"Pilot, what is happening?" asked the Arbiter.

"Enforcers, 2 of them! I'm trying to get us into the lower atmosphere of the planet so you can you the turrets on the doors." alarmed the Pilot.

"Why are the Enforcers trying to take us down, we're not the Parasite! I thought that Sentinels only fought the Parasite." said Avo confused.

"Something must have happened to the Oracle." said Vse.

"There, we're in the lower atmosphere, Arbiter, you can help me with the Enforcers now!" informed the Pilot. The Phantom's doors lowered & the turrets activated. The Arbiter & Vse got on the turrets as Avo grabbed a Fuel Rod Cannon. All the Elites fired at the Enforcers. Vse took down 1 of their shields & it rushed the Phantom. But, Avo countered it with a cannon blast to the monstrous machine's eye, blinding it, giving Vse time to take it out. Avo reloaded & rushed to help the Arbiter. The Arbiter knocked off 1 of the Enforcer's arms, stunning it for a second, giving Avo ample opportunity to blast it, but the cannon jammed. Vse saw this & he grabbed his Carbine & fired it wildly but accurately at the giant mechanism. Finally, the monster fell out of the sky.

As the Phantom was fixing to leave, 4 other Phantoms came next to it & dropped off more Elites & ammo. The Elite squadron headed straight towards the Forerunner facility, fighting off many Sentinels. They finally made it inside, only to see a few Elite corpses & pieces of Sentinels. The bodies were so badly burned from the Sentinel Beams that only 1 Elite was identified, it was Ato 'Yot, who had an inactive Plasma Grenade in his left hand & in his right was Plasma Rifle completely emptied. The Arbiter ordered the Elites to recover any weapons that could be used, including the downed Sentinels' beams. As the Elites left the room, the Arbiter was seen clenching his Energy Sword hilt. After about an hour of walking, the squad of around 20 found many broken stasis cells & the smoking wreckage of the Shadow. Luckily, the driver, Siya 'Gotum, was alive & was carrying a Sentinel Beam.  
>"Arbiter," he said after he was calmed down by Avo, "the Oracle, its eye glowed red, then it released the Parasite, &amp; ordered the Sentinels to help the Parasite!"<p>

"This is not good, the Sentinels & the Parasite, working together. Siya, what about the Shipmaster?" asked the Arbiter.

"He, Tsu 'Wetum, Relos & Saros 'Redar escaped," Siya answered. Vse sighed with relief, "but, the others were infected."

"Come, get up," the Arbiter helped him up, "let us find the Shipmaster." he said as he lead the Elites out of the room into a narrow hallway.


	3. Rampancy

Ch. 3 - Rampancy

* * *

><p>The Elites led by the Arbiter traveled through the narrow hallway. The walls were scorched with plasma &amp; beam burns, &amp; the floor was covered with Sentinel &amp; Constructor parts, &amp; some grenade stains. The distant roars &amp; screeches of some unknown Parasite form echoed throughout the hallway, making the Elites' blood run cold &amp; their journey a stress filled one.<p>

"How much longer does this corridor last?" griped a Spec Op. "It seems that we've been traveling for hours."

"It ends up ahead." replied the Arbiter pointing & becoming annoyed by his fellow Elites' whining.

Finally, the hallway ended, opening into a large room with many stasis cells. Then, a horrific sound occurred. The Elites looked off to the right of the room. 1 of the stasis cell's glass observation wall had a crack appear in the center of it. Then another sound, & another, the sounds came from every cell in the room.

"Defensive positions!" ordered Siya. The Elite squad gathered into a large circle with Avo & the Arbiter in the center. Avo aimed his Fuel Rod Cannon at the original cell, whose cracks had grown, almost the entire glass wall was covered. Then, all of the stasis cells broke open, Infection forms poured out of the cells.

"Open fire!" The Arbiter ordered, "Avo, switch to your Plasma Rifle, save the cannon."

"Burn, Parasite!" yelled Vse as he threw a Plasma Grenade. A few of the others followed suit. Soon, there were many grenade explosions. Some of the blasts were rather close & a few Elites' shields were drained.

"Cover me!" pleaded 1 as he waited for his shield to recharge, but it was too late. An Infection form soon embedded itself into his chest. His cries of horror & pain grew into a screech, then a roar as he became 1 of the Parasite's dreaded combat forms. This happened to a few of the others, but they were burned by the stolen Sentinel Beams & cut down by Energy Swords. After the onslaught the surviving Elites salvaged any ammo & continued on their search for the Shipmaster.

They soon found their way into a Terminal Mainframe room. Avo & Vse quickly accessed the Security Terminal, while Siya, a Major, & a Spec Op covered the door.

"I've shut down the locks on most of the doors in the southeast sector, & closed off most of the Sentinel Launchers." Vse told the Arbiter.

"Good," replied the Arbiter, "Avo, have you found anything?"

"Yes, it definitely appears that the Sentinels are working with the Parasite." he said, pointing to a monitor screen.

"It seems that we'll never find the Shipmaster at this rate." sighed a Minor.

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Avo, "Arbiter, I've found Crae! He's locked himself in a room with Relos, Saros, & Tsu!"

"Thank the Gods, my brother is still alive!" Vse said happily, almost crying.

"We must save them," the Arbiter declared, then looking at Siya & the 2 Elites guarding the door with him, "You 3, guard this room, make sure that only other Elites enter." he said as he, Vse, Avo, & 4 others left to go help the hiding Elites.

Soon the rescue party came across a locked door, but Avo & Vse quickly unlocked it.

"Greetings again, bipeds." said a familiar, mechanical voice. The Elites saw that the voice belonged Adjutant Instinct, its grey "eye" now glowing red, showing that it had indeed become rampant. "I don't know how you managed to escape being assimilated into the Flood, but your luck has just ran out. Sentinels, take care of our guests." Several Sentinels came out & began to attack the group. A Major quickly jumped behind a column, finding a spare Plasma Rifle. Now with dual rifles, he covered the Arbiter as he took cover with Avo. Vse downed a Sentinel with a lucky Carbine shot, then dove onto the wreckage, grabbing the Sentinel's beam & taking cover with the Major. A Minor's shield was taken down & his left arm severely burned, rendering it useless, but found cover. 1 Spec Op was, however, less fortunate. His shield was taken out by a Sentinel exploding as it hit the ground behind him just as he was aiming his Beam Rifle at Instinct. The explosion caused him to miss, & his shot bounced off a wall & came back, hitting him right in the chest as he stood up. The other Spec Op had activated his Active Camo, with this upper hand, he snuck behind a Sentinel. He jumped on top of it, causing it to miss fire & deshielded the Monitor. With its shield down it quickly fled. The now visible Spec Op was fighting to stay on the Sentinel. Another Sentinel fired at him, but he saw this & jumped off, causing the boarded Sentinel to be destroyed, while the Sentinel that just fired was ironically burned by Vse's commandeered beam. With the skirmish over, the Elites prayed for their fallen comrade. The surviving Spec Op grabbed his brother-in-arms' Beam Rifle, & they headed off to help their allies.

After a few more battles with Sentinels & Flood the Elites finally found the locked room the survivors were concealed in.

"Tsu, it's me Vse," said the Elite as he knocked on the door. A couple of seconds later Saros opened the door & summoned them in. Vse & Tsu were so happy to see each other that they hugged. However, this joyous occasion was cut short, by the screech of a combat form then a loud thud on the door.

"They've found us, everyone, defensive positions!" ordered the Arbiter. After several minutes of the same screeches & banging, there was silence. "Avo, check to see if it's safe." said the Arbiter. Avo doing as he was told opened the door just enough to look out.

"The Parasite is nowhere to be seen." said Avo as he closed the door once again.

"Good, then we need to head back to the Terminal Mainframe, Crae, how are we on ammo?" asked the Arbiter turning to Crae.

"As long as we don't have to fight a lot, we are fine." answered the Spec Op.

"Then let us go." the Arbiter announced. The Elites gathered all the ammo that they could carry & headed back out the door & back to the Terminal Mainframe.

As the Elites walked down the now dark hallway with the occasional room they heard the Research Facility creak & groan as if the Parasite being released was hurting the very structure.

"We need to quicken our pace." Arbiter said. The Elites agreed & they all began to walk much quicker, almost in a run. They soon passed through the room were they fought the betraying Monitor & his Sentinels. Vse noticed that the dead Spec Ops' body was gone & instantly knew that the corpse was infected. In the far side of the room there was a roar, & the very Spec Op that had died was now charging at them in the form of a combat body. The Major with the dual Plasma Rifles had disarmed its tentacle arm as it screeched in pain. The Minor that had the burned arm had fired a few shots on its other arm at the shoulder making it useless & Avo, using his cannon, pinned the form to the floor. As he struggled with the creature, the Arbiter, grabbing his sword slew the beast.

"We must continue." he said as he deactivated his sword.

They soon returned to the mainframe. The Major that stayed in the room let them in when they knocked.

"Arbiter," Siya said as he noticed the group, "I have great news. We've found the Shipmaster!"

"That is great," the Arbiter sighed, relieved, "where is he?"

"He & a few others have locked themselves in what appears to be a hanger." Siya replied.

"That must be where the Enforcers came from." said Avo, talking about the earlier battle with the monstrous mechanisms.

"We have gathered as much information from this Terminal Mainframe as we can." said the Spec Op that had stayed to guard the room with Siya & the Major.

"It would be better if we all went so after we find the Shipmaster we can formulate some plan." Arbiter explained, & once again, the Elites left the room to search for their lost Shipmaster.

The Elites eventually came to a fork in the long hallway.

"Siya, which direction do we take?" asked the Arbiter looking down each hallway that had formed because of the fork. Down the left, there appeared to be numerous rooms to each side of the hall. While the right looked like the same as the previous hallways; long & dark.

"Both lead to the hanger," replied Siya, "the left seems shorter, but the treacherous Oracle has probably set a trap down that one, so, I say to the right." Sure enough, as he said that, many of the doors, if not all, began to be smashed from the inside, & the group heard many screeches & roars.

"To the right it is," the Arbiter said as they ran down the long, dark hallway that looked so much like other traveled many times before, "Vse, Tsu, cover our 6," using a phrase he learned from the Humans. The brothers let the other Elites pass & ran behind the rushing crowd of the Arbiter, Spec Ops, Minors, & Majors as the nightmarish noises became more & more distant.

After running for about half an hour the group came across a room with a few Flood bodies & parts of dismantled Sentinels. The room branched out into 3 different halls.

"Siya, which direction?" asked the Arbiter, hearing the all too familiar screeches.

"Down the middle." he answered & the squad continued onward. "There's the door to the hanger!" he said after running for a while & pointing to a large door. Several Elites banged on the door.

"Shipmaster," yelled Ralos, " we're here to rescue you! Let us in!"

"The door is jammed, give us time." answered the Rtas from the other side. Just then, Vse & Tsu ran up to the main group from their sentry positions.

"The Parasite is headed this way!" said Tsu in between pants. The others looked at the path that they just came from, they could hear the terrible roars coming closer. Then came a banging, only this was different, not only did it come from the walls, but from the cieling as well!  
>"Defensive positions," ordered the Arbiter, "don't let them get to the door!" The Elites looked around, waiting for the Flood to come at them from any &amp; every direction. The combat forms flooded the hallway, racing towards the Elites. "Hold your fire until you can get a good shot." the Arbiter shouted over the screeches &amp; roars. The monstrosaties came within about 20 feet of the group as they fired upon the Flood ranks. The occassional Carrier would explode, causing combat bodies flying, but releasing the Infection forms transported inside. The Flood banging on the walls finally broke in, causing even more havoc &amp; chaos.<p>

The hanger door opened enough for 1 Elite to get through at a time, but it was getting wider. Soon the door was so ajar that 4 Elites could make it inside. By this time most of the Flood had been either killed or unarmed, literally.

"Everyone, go through, Vse, Tsu," called the Arbiter, "help me cover the others."

"For you, this was made!" cried Tsu as he lobbed a Plasma Grenade at a Carrier.

"Vse, Tsu, get in the hanger!" yelled the Arbiter.

"What about-"

"Now!" ordered the Arbiter, cutting off Vse. They followed his orders. The door began to close. The Arbiter lit 2 grenades. 'Your task as the Arbiter is perilous, suicidal.' the Arbiter was remembering the late Prophet of Mercy's words before he was dubbed the Arbiter. With the grenades in hand, he lobbed them both at the approaching creatures. The last thing he saw was the blue, glowing light from the explosions.


	4. Reckless Abandon

Ch. 4 - Reckless Abandon

* * *

><p>"Ar-er? -iter!" the sound was almost incoherent. The Arbiter's eyes opened. There was an unbearable ringing in his ears. As he regained consciousness he winced at the noise. The one calling his name was Vse, who, at the last minute, had saved the doomed Elite.<p>

"Y-You...You disobeyed orders." he answered, jokingly.

"I'm sorry, sir." Vse said. The Arbiter looked around the room. Rtas was talking with Ralos & Saros, assessing what had happened after he had taken refuge in the hanger. Vse headed over to where Tsu, the burned Minor, & Spec Op were. Siya & the Major where observing the Arbiter's wounds. He had suffered several burns from the explosion.

"You only survived because of your shield, however, it will be about 2 days until you can successfully wield your sword." Siya said, motioning to the Energy Sword hilt at the wounded Arbiter's side, his Carbine was set up against the wall next to them.

"How long before the Parasite gets in here?" the Arbiter asked.

"We're not sure." said the Major, grimly. The Shipmaster noticed the Arbiter's reawakening. He & the 'Redar brothers came over to the battered & bruised hero.

"Saros & Ralos told me that you've talked with the Oracle, is this true?" Rtas asked, as they made it the the make-shift bed.

"This is true." the Arbiter answered.

"What did it tell you?"

"It told us all about the facility; how it managed the Parasite, how long it's been since an 'outbreak', & such."

"Well, it seems it isn't very good at its job. Did it tell you a possible way to destroy this facility?"

"No," then a thought occurred in the Arbiter's mind, "wait, it did show us where the core of the facility is."

"Excellent! Could you overload it?"

"With several grenades, & maybe 1 or 2 shots from Avo's cannon."

"Fantastic! Arbiter, the only question now is, do you think you _can_ overload it?"

"Yes." answered the Arbiter. He struggled to sit up, but the pain was too much.

"You can't sit up, let alone, overload the facility's core in this weakened state!" said the Major, helping his injured ally.

"He won't be going alone." said Avo, walking over to join the conversation. The 'Redar brothers nodded in agreement.

"You don't understand, he _can't_ move in his weakened state, his shields haven't even fully recharged yet!'' the Major said. What he said was true, the Arbiter's shields had been sparking the entire time.

"I **will** do it." the Arbiter said, trying to move again, but wincing in pain.

"Our brother is right, you must rest & recover your strength, but as soon as you do, we, all of us," Rtas said looking at the Major, "move in to overload the core."

Several hours later, the Arbiter was standing again, using his Carbine as a crutch & leaning against the wall. He could feel his shields trying to become fully charged, but they had only become 60% charged. The 'Wetums were standing guard, chronically alerting the others to the situation outside the Forerunner hangar. Avo & the burned Minor had discovered many of the parts & pieces that make up the Enforcers.

"Our Lords really knew how to make some monsters..." sighed the Minor.

"Indeed." agreed Avo. He then preceded to kick the mechanical giant's "head", the shield flickered on, then died. This startled the other Elites. The Arbiter looked at the Major. He knew that their hero eagerly wanted to wield his sword once again.

"Arbiter," said the Major as he walked over to him, "here, your sword." The Major handed the Arbiter his weapon back. The Arbiter thanked him. He had had the very same sword during the Schism. He looked around. Siya, Vse, & Crae were trying to disassemble the Enforcer's Heavy Needler. Tsu & Saros were mocking them.

"You're never gonna get that off." called Tsu.

"Be careful, you might activate it." said Saros sarcastically. Rtas was rubbing his amputated mandibles, most likely remembering his first encounter with the Parasite. Relos & Avo were discussing the amount of ammo that was left, & the Major was inspecting the burned Minor's wounds. It seems that it was instantly cauterized & there was no pain. A thought came to the Arbiter's mind. Could the band of 9 Elites really be able to destroy the facility. Surely they could. He had stopped a Heretic uprising, helped kill Tartarus, taken his revenge on Truth, & even stopped the Parasite before with the help of the Spartan. Even before his reign as the Arbiter he had had countless victories against the Humans. But now he questioned his abilities.

"I think it's time," Said the Shipmaster looking at the Arbiter. His shields were now at 70%, they would have to do. The others grouped around the two veteraned warriors, "the time has come for us to complete our work. When we go out there, & are overrun by the Parasite, don't let the fear we all share overcome you, for it will be your last. Never hesitate, if even for an instant, be sure on your actions. We will cut through this infection & destroy this installation." The others let out roars of eagerness, in truth, they could not wait any longer for the next conflict.

The survivors had trekked on for hours with only a few skirmishes, & the Arbiter's shield were now back to 100%. The screeches & moans of the Parasites' deadly forms echoed throughout the halls. A few of the Elites shivered from the moral shattering noises. Night must have fallen now, as they could see their breaths.

"We need to move faster," said Crae, "our plasma weapons will be slower to fire now that it's colder." He was right, a couple of them rubbed their rifles to keep the plasma batteries warmer. Suddenly, loud bang happened above the squad, & the lights flickered on & off, then shut off completely.

"Keep quiet & keen." ordered Rtas. As they followed orders they heard the rustling of some unspeakable creature moving about. A spark light the room only for a short second, but it was enough. Siya had seen it, a Carrier had made its way close to the Elites.

"Run!" he said pointing at the monstrosity. The group ran as fast as they could, as a Carrier Form is never alone, there are always at least 3 plus the Combat Forms that protect them. They ran for what seemed like an eternity, but it was not enough, the screeches told them that the Parasite had found them. So, onward they ran, their stamina never ceasing. The lights soon came back on, the sign of infection was incredible, Parasite biomass had formed on many of the walls, the floor, & even the ceiling. This was not a good sign, they were running out of time.

A few more hours of running & the Elites came to a huge set of doors.

"Siya, Crae, open this door!" the Shipmaster ordered. They did as they were told. "We need to make sure nothing happens to them while they work." As if on cue, a roar came from down the hall. A Combat Form had found them & was alerting its twisted & mangled allies of the situation.

"How could this possibly be any worse?" cried Vse. Again, on cue, several Sentinels appeared, it seemed that the Parasite had tried to merge with them as there was biomass on parts of them.

"You just had to ask!" said Tsu panicking. "Flare!" he cried as he threw a Plasma Grenade at a Carrier that had wobbled to the front of the Parasite's line. It stuck & obliterated the surrounding Combat Forms, although its deadly cargo was perfectly fine. The Infection Forms quickly scurried towards the defenders with their nasty intent. They were stopped dead in their little tracks. Avo destroyed one of the Infested Sentinels, this seemed to anger the Combat Forms, as they screeched & roared more ferociously now & their attack became even more powerful.

"It's a good thing I kept this!" yelled the Major as he threw down a Deployable Cover. As the Parasite attacked the plasma shield they cried in pain, as if the shield was burning them. An Infested Sentinel tried to fire its beam but it malfunctioned & sparked, sensing its end, it tried to kamikaze, but in vain, it shortly exploded, damaging its mutated fellows. The other Forerunner/Parasite hybrids left the battle, making more room for the twisted Parasite forms. Then, a beeping sound occurred.

"Finally!" exclaimed Crae, the doors had opened & the Elites hurriedly entered the room. Siya locked the doors behind them. This was absolutely perfect timing as the Deployable Cover disintegrated under the Parasite's constant attack.

"No way..." said the burned Minor.

"Wha-" Saros began to ask but was cut off by the horrid sight that had befallen him.

"That...That can't be possible!" cried Tsu in terror. As the rest of the room lighted up, allowing the others to see the nightmare. A Proto-Gravemind had been formed, but at the middle of it was the Oracle.

"We-ell, hel-hell-o, bip-ped-ds." it said, its voice had twisted into the horrible mixture of its original & a Gravemind. This explained the Infested Sentinels & the Parasites' anger at their destruction. The Parasite had accomplished a great task, fusing organism & machine. The Oracle-Gravemind had formed itself around the core of the facility. Now the Elites' task had become much harder, they not only had to destroy the facility to stop the Parasite's expansion, but now they needed to kill this monstrosity. The Major started to assaulting with a volley of plasma bolts from his duel Plasma Rifles, but the Oracle's shield had covered the entirety of its being. The creature responded with a blast of its own, killing him almost instantly. The burned Minor lobbed a grenade at the horror, but it bounced off & exploded on the ground a foot away.

"A-ah! Th-at hu-urt? But-t h-how?" cried the Oracle. The explosion had burned some of the biomass, the shield had failed as the monster attacked leaving itself open. It had clearly grown angry at the new experience of pain. It fired its beam at the Elites, however they had taken cover. The 'Redars took advantage of the anger & blasted it with their commandeered Sentinel Beams. Chunks of biomass fell to the floor, smoking & charred.

"A-a-h! D-am-n yo-u, bi-pe-ds-s! W-o-ow, I-I didn-'t kn-ow tha-at cu-rs-sin-g w-as in-n my vo-cab-ul-lary." it said as pain became more & more real to it. Several more blasts came from it, these were answered by grenades & a few blasts from Avo's Fuel Rod Cannon. "I-I'm dy-ying!" it cried as it began to explode. The explosion of the terrible creation as it died triggered an explosion in the core that it had wrapped itself around. The Elites had completed both tasks at once.


	5. Escape

Ch. 5 - Escape

* * *

><p>As the horrific hybrid of 734 Adjutant Instinct &amp; the Proto-Gravemind began to explode &amp; overpower the Flood Research Facility's core that it had wrapped itself around the surviving Elites had no time to cheer for victory, for the entire facility was shorting out. An explosion opened a door on the other side of the room.<p>

"Quickly!" cried Rtas 'Vadum pointing at the new exit. He & his brothers-in-arms ran for their lives with the room blowing up around them. The hallway was filled w/ the Flood creatures & Sentinels fighting each other, reverting back to normal now that each's leader was dead. They reached a door that had only opened halfway.

"Avo, help me with this door!" called Crae. Siya also joined him, as the hall around them was making very strange noises over the fighting of the former allies, & this made him very nervous.

"This can't possibly get any worse!" cried the burned Minor. But it had, the Parasite had won its skirmish with the Sentinels & turned its collective attention towards the escapees. Roaring & screeches from the terrifying Combat Forms grew louder as they drew closer. Tsu fired his rifle at the creatures in a horrified frenzy, angering the monstrous Elite Combat Form. It used its powerful tentacle arm to slam Tsu into the wall, knocking him to his knees & dispatching his shield, then the form got ready for the finishing strike, but, suddenly, Vse let out a blood curdling roar & activated his blade. W/ extraordinary speed he sliced the mutated Elite in half, then stabbing the Infection Form in its chest. He then helped his brother up, who thanked him. Tsu then picked his rifle up & his shield recharged.

"I think I got it!" exclaimed Avo as he sparked some wires. The door slammed close.

"Oh, you got it alright." said Siya sarcastically.

"It's green on red, not blue on red." Crae said as he pushed Avo aside. The door opened & the group hurried through it, being pursued by the Parasite's monsters. Just as the Elites got through the door it exploded on the Combat creatures.

The Elites continued to run for their lives throughout the falling apart facility. Then they came to a fork in the hall.

"Which wa-" the Arbiter tried to ask but was cut off by one of the halls' ceiling caving in. Down the other hall came more Flood. "I guess we go _up_." The group quickly scaled the rubble to the next floor, then ran through a hole in the wall to the outside.

"Finally, fresh air!" exclaimed Saros. Suddenly, an Enforcer covered with Combat Forms came into view & crashed into the ground, destroying the machine & attackers.

"Siya, activate the homing beacon!" Shipmaster 'Vadum ordered. Siya did so.

"Some Phantoms should arrive in 15 minutes." he said. Several Carriers stumbled out of the wreckage of the same wall the Elites did, one tripped & fell over, exploding, causing a chain reaction. Now a swarm of Infection Forms came at them.

"By the gods!" the 'Redar siblings said simultaneously.

"Destroy them!" cried the burned Minor. The 'Redars quickly cremated the crawling creatures with their beams. The squad started to run towards the place where they 1st landed here on this planet. A few Sentinels & Combat Forms created an opposition, but were defeated. Finally, the Phantoms showed up.

"Quickly, everyone get on board!" Ordered the Arbiter. As the Elites gathered in the ships they could hear the humming from earlier, only this time it was much, **much** louder.

"Hurry, back to the _Shadow_!" Exclaimed Rtas. The Phantoms flew as fast as they could to escape the planet. When they left the atmosphere the overloaded facility finally blew. A huge explosion destroyed an entire part of the planet, w/ the occurring shockwave hitting the escaping Phantoms.

"What was that?" cried one of the Assault Carrier's crewmen. The shock wave had even struck the _Shadow of Intent_!

"Good job everyone," the Arbiter said, now back on the ship, "those that died this day, died as heroes."

"Indeed," added the Shipmaster, "now we all _really_ need to get home. In fact, I don't think I ever been so home-sick before." The Elites cheered in agreement. With the corrupted Research Facility destroyed & the survivers safely on board their ship, the iShadow of Intent/i opened a Slipspace portal & headed back to the Elites homeworld, Sangheilos, with the crew awaiting their next battle.


End file.
